Altadena residents feel forgotten as Trump tours Pacific Palisades fire devastation
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President Trump surveyed destruction in Pacific Palisades on Friday, spoke with residents who had lost their homes and expressed shock at the level of devastation.
But across town in Altadena, some residents watching those sober scenes hoped the staggering losses in their own community would not be forgotten.
Both communities were devastated by the Jan. 7 firestorms. The Palisades fire — where Trump surveyed damage Friday — scorched more than 23,000 acres, destroyed 6,822 structures and killed 11 people in the wealthy neighborhoods of Pacific Palisades and Malibu.
The Eaton fire tore a 14,021-acre path of destruction through the working-class and historically Black community of Altadena and parts of Pasadena. It razed more than 9,400 structures and killed at least 17 people.
After an epic dry streak, the first real rain of winter falls in Southern California, bringing elevated risk of floods and landslides to areas recently burned by wildfires.
Sam James, who grew up in Altadena and whose family lost homes in the fire, said she is concerned about Altadena losing the spotlight when residents need so much.
“I think we’ve already seen disproportionate news coverage and know that our demographics are not the same as Pacific Palisades, but that doesn’t mean that our devastation is any less,” she said.
Democratic Rep. Judy Chu, who represents Pasadena, released a statement saying she was “extremely disappointed” that the president was not going to personally view the destruction wrought by the Eaton fire.
Chu, who joined Trump on Friday for a fire recovery briefing along with a number of other California elected officials, said she’d continue pressuring him to visit northern Pasadena and Altadena, which she described as “a vibrant Black community that has served as a hub of Black Los Angeles for decades.”
The fire left behind thousand of charred homes and an untold amount of debris that needs to be removed.
Juanita West Tillman, whose family lost three homes to the Eaton fire, said she thought Trump should have come to Altadena to take in the scene for himself.
“To be ignored, is an atrocious act,” the 82-year-old said.
West Tillman bought her first property in Altadena 52 years ago and said her beloved neighborhood has been reduced to “blocks and blocks of pure devastation, with houses completely leveled, including ours.”
“It really truly sounds like we’re being totally discounted,” she said of Trump’s decision not to visit the community. “Until you see it, you don’t know the impact. I don’t know how he goes to one and not the other.”
The Altadena fire wiped out much of a historic Black enclave in this picturesque town in the San Gabriel Valley.
Trump said at an afternoon news conference that he was shocked by what he witnessed during his tour of Pacific Palisades.
“I don’t think you can realize how how rough it is, how devastating it is, until you see it,” he said. “I didn’t realize. I mean, I saw a lot of bad things on television, but the extent of it.”
Though his tour focused on Pacific Palisades, he told all Californians that “the federal government’s standing behind you 100%.”
Trump said he and First Lady Melania Trump visited the state to “express a great love for the people in California” and that he had a positive talk with Gov. Gavin Newsom.
“We have to work together to get this really worked out,” he said.
President Trump landed in Los Angeles on Friday to survey the devastation from the firestorms that swept through the county.
Chu and L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, who both represent Altadena, called Trump’s attention to the Eaton fire during Friday’s roundtable discussion.
“I know that you’ve gone to the Palisades and you’ve seen the devastation, but it’s apocalyptic in Altadena,” Chu said.
Trump responded by saying he understands her community was “really devastated” and vowing to take care of it.
Barger told Trump that the people of Altadena are “the exact people you talked to when you ran.”
“You’ve got individuals from every walk of life,” she said. “At one time it was the only place for African Americans to purchase homes. It was redlined.”
The Eaton fire devastated Altadena. Black Angelenos are mobilizing to protect its future.
Lifelong Altadena resident Bronson Manning said he didn’t think Trump would consider the residents of Altadena “his people.”
“I don’t really feel that Altadena would be somewhere where he has a large constituency to show up for,” said Manning, “in the sense that it’s a largely working-class neighborhood with a lot of people of color.”
Manning lost his childhood home to the Eaton fire and is worried about his community getting enough federal aid to rebuild.
“The optimist in me would like to see him keep the promise of federal aid, but the realist in me doesn’t really trust it,” he said.
Residents in Pacific Palisades, Altadena and Rancho Palos Verdes fear too much rain too fast will cause landslides and create, as one said, a ‘soupy mess.’
Pasadena Mayor Victor Gordo told NBC News that images of the president and first lady meeting with Palisades homeowners are “hard to watch” for his constituents.
“These are people who are looking for assistance, who are looking for leadership from the highest office in the land and people who are hurt deeply,” he said of Eaton fire victims.
But beyond the logistics of Trump’s visit, Gordo said what’s really important is what happens next.
“When those lights shut down and the TV cameras leave, that’s when I’m going to be looking for evidence of the federal government and the president bringing the assistance that’s needed,” he said.
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